Thursday, December 26, 2013

In 2010 when the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup I promised myself that the next time they won I would learn to play hockey. I'm think I also promised myself a pair of in-line skates.

So, in 2013 when the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup again I immediately said I would have to learn to play the game.

I'm here to tell you now that it is not a cheap game to play. With everything else going on in my life I just don't have the time or money to do this.

I started looking around to see how we could play hockey without actually learning to skate and all the other expense. I hit upon Knee Hockey, and I still want to set some things up so we can play that. It will be a good indoor activity in the winter.

In the meantime I came up with something based on some web searches I did. I took the lid of a cardboard box and a plastic coathanger. I marked lines on the lid, cut goal holes and cut down the hanger into sticks.

Using a quarter or nickel works great. We haven't decided which one we prefer.

We start by placing the coin in the center and tapping sticks three times. There are few rules:

If a play knocks the coin out of play the other player gets a penalty shot from the redline (open goal).

If a player plays the coin when it is behind the other player's blue line that player gets a penalty shot.

No fingers

Play nice.

It has been loads of fun. I think it is actually more fun than air hockey because there seems to be less random whacking at the puck, and the bluelines add more hockey-ness to it.

Flower Friends

Flower Code Names

The Flowers of Mundelein are:Dad is DaisyMom is GardeniaEldest daughter is Stargazer Lily (Star)ThenOrchidand Tulip

The Mundelein Flowers’ names do not correspond to the letters that begin their first names, but everyone else’s flower name and their real name (or title) start with the same letter.

Papa Pansy is married to Boushette BegoniaThey have four sons and a daughter Lavender.

The oldest son is Daisy as we mentioned before.

Second son is Sweat Pea who is married to DaffodilThey have daughter Carnation and son Wisteria.

Third son is Rose who is marred to Juniper.Their daughter isJasmine.

Youngest (baby) son is Ginger who is married to Holly.Their daughter is Lilac and their sons are Geranium and Petunia.

Papou Peony is married to Yaya YarrowThey have a son and daughter Gardenia.

Their son, Gladiolus is married to Sunflower.Their daughter is Azalea and their son is Aster.

Flowers that aren't flowers - these folks are so near and dear that we treat them just like flowers:

Marigold is married to Apple Blossom (23 Aug 08)Jonquil is a very old and good friend of Sweat Pea from Owasippe

I don’t have names going further out. If you read this and want a flower name please let me know. It would be easiest to remember who you are if your name had something to do with you or had the same starting letter.

If you don’t pick your flower name then I will when news comes up about you.

Flower Power!

Chicago Neighborhoods

Grand Re-Opening

As of 8 August 2013 I will be again using this blog to post family and personal related matters.

I will be revamping Illini6 as a more professional site.

Also as of this date I will not be using the flower code words anymore. It was just too cumbersome and at times kept me from posting.

I will use first names only and/or initials to minimize the exposure of full real names.

I will not be posting about future events for the most part, just reporting on past events.

I will leave the list of flower names for reference on any posts that pre-date this re-opening.